Saturday, August 31, 2013

Pick of the Day

This is a great build. It uses very clever techniques to get the curves that are expressed in the shape of the actual rocket. On top of that, this is a critical element of international human based space endeavor as the Soyuz Rocket is how we get astronauts to the Space Station.

An interesting idea but this is suppose to be an anniversary set. If that is your core excuse for recreating an existing Lego set so soon then state it int he title. A lot of people will not look at projects that seem to be duplications of existing Lego sets.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Senteosan of recent Cuusoo Jurassic Park infamy has gotten his project to the doorstep of 5000 support without a single word from Cuusoo. This is very unusual as they usually give a comment at 1000.
As Jurassic Park is set for Kreo in 2014, many people suspect that all the Jurassic Park projects will be archived anyway.
Possibly in response to this, Senteosan has relaunched his amazing dino as a Jurassic Park independent "Bricksauria." And suddenly we have a new, mind boggling well crafted project independent of any IP.

Yesterday did not yield many new projects on Cuusoo so I figured I would show you something I found on Rebrick instead, this Caterham 7 by Sheepo.

Sheepo does a mind bending job cramming technical marvels into
artistically and accurately rendered shells. They never fail to
impress. You may recall their Land Rover - Defender 110 reached 10,000 on Cuusoo, making it the first technic based project to do so.

This video speaks for itself but if you would like to see some more pictures or other work by Sheepo, please visit his web site.

This ship has always made me think of a cross between the Nautilus and the Giant Squid that attacked it. This is a great design but I do wonder how well it would perform IRL.
If you like the concept though, vote for it and see what Lego can do with those arms.

This looks like a real Lego set, probably because it looks a lot like the Duplo set. Fantastic MOC all around and something to be really proud of. Lego is probably following the same pattern as Cars though. They are starting with Duplo, then for the next movie (Its a Trilogy) they will produce Lego system sets to serve the audience that they seeded with the Duplo

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Pick of the Day

This is a really great show. I have no idea if it could make brand fit. It is a bit on the violent side and goes some places that Lego has avoided but I don't really care, that is for Lego to figure out.

This figures designs are perfect and the build is top rate. Make sure to also support for one of my favorite projects on Cuusoo, King of Red Lions,also by flailx.

An ornament for 2015! Very good show
Kelvinwin. Way too many people miss the beat on projects vs demand vs production. If you can get the support for this, you should be able to get it to production in time.

If you are coming from Brickset please forgive the double post but I really want to get this project out there. This week, we are featuring a project based on the Friends line. There are no where near as many friends builds as standard minifigs but they are certainly out there.

With Friends in Space, Builder42 showcases perfectly an aspects of my favorite projects on Cuusoo, stepping outside the box and preconceived notions of Lego or what we do with that Lego.

Builder42 has done an amazing job customizing these figures, reimagining them in an more action driven sci-fi perspective with a real anime feel, of course the Macross inspired flightsuits and helmets add that effect.

Even with the harder edge of these elements you can see it still works well with the standard Friends elements like this pink skirt.

The project also showcase quite well that pink and space craft can go together quite well.

When Lego produces the VF-1 (fingers crossed) I might just have to commission Builder42 to make me one of these amazing figures.

Also make sure to check out Builder42's Calamity Jane 2. The other reason I am bringing you this project today is to showcase the importance of Tags.
I can't believe that both these projects would be lounging around in the SUB 100! range if people knew they existed and in Cuusoo, if you don't have the right tags, you are a blip on the radar and if you have NO tags, its like you don't even exits.
Tags are what drive web of interconnectivity on Cuusoo. If you have no tags, you are basically sitting outside the network.

As a personal Plug, if ladies that kick butt is something you support, then please check out my own Legend of Korra project.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

News

I am going to a new format. I am going to be reviewing daily (or near daily) again so there are going to be fewer projects in the weekly review. If you would like to see more please check out my daily review.

Discworld Gets Rincewind and Reaches 2000!

The title pretty much says it all. I have finally created a Rincewind model I like enough to share and in doing so I finally got my Discworld project past the 2000 mark. I think I did a good job capturing his essence. I am pretty satisfied with the Luggage at this point too. My Legend of Korra project is not doing too shabby either as it is now 925+.

Oz Contest

JeremiahKC has done something I have been expecting for a while now and expect to see with greater regularity in the future. As part of the The Road to OZ, he has integrated a contest.

At 8000 support (very soon) one entrant will receive a Dorthy brick build model. At 10,000 one entrant will receive Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion brick built models. It is a clever move but I undstand these activities can be legally complex. I will be watching closely (and have entered as well).

Kickstarter

Bricktable

The Bricktable is a very well though out design. This is a table with a trap door to a funnel. So you pour out your Lego onto the table, find what you need, then pull the trap door to pour all the Lego back into your container.

Apps

Mini Mi

I just found this new minifig themed app . It is the kind of genius that is obvious in hindsight (aren't the best ones that way).

Mini mi allows you to construct a wide variety of figures by cycling through a an extensive menu of options.

The app is well thought out with several suboptions within each
existing option, for instance, you can add glasses to face or change the
color of each arm individually. One great option that is much easier
to implement virtually than in the real world is short sleeves

I give the developers, 7on2, significant props for including a wheelchair option for the lower torso.

I will be honest, the interface takes some time to get used to but here is a quick start guide:

Slide a part left or right to cycle through options

Double tap a part to see the full menu of options for the element selected (including locked content)

Tap a part to go to coloring and sub options for the given part

To get to face customization, Tap once to get to color selection, then tap on the face again in the color menu

Swipe the image up to save

I could see this being a great tool for the Cuusoo crowd. People can use it to make Custom figs for their ideas and post them to their projects. I contacted the developer and (at least one of them) they gave their permission to use their art in this way. We will have to see if Cuusoo is ok with it though.

The app itself if free and well worth the price. The monitization comes in the form of expansions. $0.99 unlocks a theme (Space, Music, Sports, Pirate, or Castle) and $3.99 unlocks the whole thing.

Pick of the Week

Although I am a self proclaimed aficionado of animation I must admit my familiarity with Invader Zim is low. I do however find this design irresistibly charming and well thought out.

The windows are cleverly designed into show accurate shapes regardless of the complex geometry. But on top of that (Literally) the roof cracks open to reveal a hangar for the ship which is a great density of build.

After cracking the roof open the sides can also be pulled down granting access to the first floor which, is itself another greatly orchestrated MOC, expanding on the already numerous play features of the house

Buggyirk and Jiminyc have certainly provided Cuusoo a project to be proud of with a large potential audience and a highly playable design.

Honorable Mentions

This would have been a shoo in for "Pick of the Week" for me. I mean, LOOK AT THAT THING! It is brilliant on so many levels. It is one of the rare projects (only one other ((trivia time boys and girls)) that I posted to Brickset within hours of it being published.

It has however been brought to my attention that Jurassic Park is getting the Kreo treatment in 2014 and this projects is therefore dead in the water. So very sad! I hope to see more great projects come out of Senteosan though.

It is significant to point out that Brick Queen's Jurassic Park project got a 1000 support comment that did not archive the project, which has been historically the action when a project reaches 1000 with an IP that is currently locked down. It has been quite some time since a project has reached 1000 with a locked down license.

This could mean any of a number of things:

Human error (Cuusoo Staff may have been unaware of the Kreo Conflict)

Kreo might not have exclusive rights to Jurrasic Park (Unlikely I would imagine)

I think this is hands down the best brick Lamborghini I have ever seen. Its technique is remarkable. The position for the number one spot was fierce this week however but I will be mentioning this baby again in the future, you can count on that.

I said this before but it bears repeating: "I have never seen a car look so good covered in that much SNOT."

I will admit that I am biased on this one. I have a strange affection for Baba Yaba and her Chicken Legged House. What I am unbiased about though is how well orchestrated this design is. Its a fantastic representation.

Some might feel that specific stories about Baba Yaba might be too intense for young audiences but these stories are true of pretty much all mythological beasts. We see a ton of the Greek/Roman figures in the Lego Minifig line but the Minotaurs origins are certainly not family friendly.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Pick of the Day

Kerbal, I have not played it but I hear about it enough from my gaming group. This is an ideal project: Good fan base, active community, viable scale. On top of that, its just so damn cute.

Very clever implementation of the Fez to create characters that are compelling and recognizable yet inexpesive to produce and inviting to the members of the Kerbal fanbase who might really like Kerbal but not want a full scale figures cutting into their budget.

Honorable Mentions

Lizardman is one of the early guys on Cuusoo and they have been producing content for a long time. He is one of the very rare Cuusoo creators to have taken an idea that is all there own, not even based on historical events and gotten it past 1000. No Small Feat.

This is perhaps my favorite offering of his to date. Those feet look amazing. and the ring around the neck is fantastic.

So, to reiterate, I want it absolutely clear: I think this is a work of art. It is irrational how awesome I think this design is. If I saw it at a Con I would go all giggly with respect. As a product though it is the doorstep to adventure, the remains that are burned away, the cocoon that is cast off and discarded for the butterfly to take flight. Ultimately it is a graveyard.

I am not saying that a product could not be made of this, but the scale of the build does not match the thematic nature of the establishment.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Kickstarter

Move over Sea Monkeys, Dino Pets are going to eat your lunch!

This is a kickstarter to develop a product based on a bioluminescent dinoflagellates. Since the "dinos" feed off sunlight upkeep is about a simple (or simpler) that caring for a house plant but when you seal it all up in a cute little package you get a biological night time buddy night light.

Pretty genius, literally.

Cuusoo

Pick of the Day

I love folk lore and mythology. The further it gets from the "classics" the more I love it. Baba Yaga is up there with my favorites and this is a fantastic implementation of her iconic Chicken Legged Hut.
I doubt this project has a shot at 10k, but I will certainly do what I can for it.

Notables

I have come to accept that projects are posted that fly in the face of the likely on Cuusoo, but I am always baffled when there are projects whose actual concept is fundamental antithetical to Cuusoo's stated policy of one set per project.
In this case Gollum.Jones (Clever Avatar btw) is promoting a good idea (but one that is not new to Cuusoo) where you can get chunks of a castle in individual sets. I mean, if this project were to get to 10k Cuusoo would ask them, what single set of the required series do you want produced?

Granted, by the time a castle project gets to 10k, all the rules might be different...